I have been meaning to do a website on animal totems for as long as I can remember. I love animals, always have. I also believe that humans have revered the animals throughout time because they truly do show us a lot about ourselves.
When I developed this website with Nick, our goal was to look at an animal, learn about it's habits, diet, where it lives, and it's most unique traits. We then blended those qualities into individual totem animal pages that show viewers how different animals carry lessons that they can use on their path.
Totem animals have often sparked my creativity and I had written about them before, but I wanted to create a place where I could use all of my skills - graphic design, web design, and writing all in one place to create something beautiful that others would enjoy as well.
This project was the funnest thing I have done in ages and I am going to keep expanding on it, adding more animals and custom art.
Please stop by and let me know what you think. Perhaps a free totem reading will spark your creativity today.
www.TotemWisdom.com
Showing posts with label free writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free writing. Show all posts
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
3 Quick Tips to Beat Writer's Block that Actually Work!
There are tips galore for breaking the grip of writer's block. Writer's block happens to the best of writers and it can be a very foreboding feeling - especially when you depend on your writing to help feed the family and pay the bills.
I have an ironic inner issue that I have learned to play along with - and it has prompted some of my better writing. I feel amazingly pressured by deadlines - so much so that I freeze. However, when I am playing a game I love the pressure to solve a puzzle or do something as quickly as possible - which leads us to tip one.
Beat Writer's Block Tip 1
The little game I play with myself is to get ideas down on paper - everything else can come in revisions later. It involves a timer and free writing.
I do this in a couple of ways - either by choosing a subject or just writing whatever comes out. I set a timer and the idea of the "game" is to see how many ideas I can come up with in the allotted time. Usually just one "round" of this free writing will get my words flowing. Sometimes, the brain is still stubborn though and in that case I set the timer again and "compete" with myself to get more ideas during the second round.
The key components to excellent free writing:
Granted some of these can be harder than they sound, but keep practicing and you'll find free writing techniques the most valuable for overcoming writer's block and allowing words to flow more easily and frequently.
* Forget punctuation, spelling and other distractions - it's only for you
* If you get off topic keep writing anyway sometimes you'll come around full circle and end up developing even more well-rounded ideas.
* Allow your ideas to flow freely and don't try to "correct" them as you write - let go and ALLOW yourself to just write - without fear or consequence just do it.
Beat Writer's Block Tip 2
Sometimes it's just difficult to come up with ideas. A few things I do for this is consciously ask questions. Watch the news or read a magazine and as you do ask deeper questions - "why would someone do that" or "what lead to this", "how else could you...?" etc. Those questions can lead to neat new ideas to explore.
Another idea is to use SEO tools to see what people are searching for - what do they want to know? Find something interesting and write an outline for that type of article to pitch (or write the article and sell it as online content right away)
Beat Writer's Block Tip 3
set up a mic and voice record - ask questions, talk about what's on your mind, share insights you had about something you read etc. It's the "speaking" equivalent of a free writing session, but allows you to get a lot more ideas out in a short time. Later on listen to your recording and glean ideas from that.
I have an ironic inner issue that I have learned to play along with - and it has prompted some of my better writing. I feel amazingly pressured by deadlines - so much so that I freeze. However, when I am playing a game I love the pressure to solve a puzzle or do something as quickly as possible - which leads us to tip one.
Beat Writer's Block Tip 1
The little game I play with myself is to get ideas down on paper - everything else can come in revisions later. It involves a timer and free writing.
I do this in a couple of ways - either by choosing a subject or just writing whatever comes out. I set a timer and the idea of the "game" is to see how many ideas I can come up with in the allotted time. Usually just one "round" of this free writing will get my words flowing. Sometimes, the brain is still stubborn though and in that case I set the timer again and "compete" with myself to get more ideas during the second round.
The key components to excellent free writing:
Granted some of these can be harder than they sound, but keep practicing and you'll find free writing techniques the most valuable for overcoming writer's block and allowing words to flow more easily and frequently.
* Forget punctuation, spelling and other distractions - it's only for you
* If you get off topic keep writing anyway sometimes you'll come around full circle and end up developing even more well-rounded ideas.
* Allow your ideas to flow freely and don't try to "correct" them as you write - let go and ALLOW yourself to just write - without fear or consequence just do it.
Beat Writer's Block Tip 2
Sometimes it's just difficult to come up with ideas. A few things I do for this is consciously ask questions. Watch the news or read a magazine and as you do ask deeper questions - "why would someone do that" or "what lead to this", "how else could you...?" etc. Those questions can lead to neat new ideas to explore.
Another idea is to use SEO tools to see what people are searching for - what do they want to know? Find something interesting and write an outline for that type of article to pitch (or write the article and sell it as online content right away)
Beat Writer's Block Tip 3
set up a mic and voice record - ask questions, talk about what's on your mind, share insights you had about something you read etc. It's the "speaking" equivalent of a free writing session, but allows you to get a lot more ideas out in a short time. Later on listen to your recording and glean ideas from that.
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